PETER Wright, Boroughmuir's 25-year-old tight-head prop forward, is
having an incredible year. The latest episode was his selection
yesterday as one of eight Scots in the Lions' squad for the tour to New
Zealand.
Only seven weeks ago Wright was drafted back into international rugby
out of position as Scotland's loose head against France at Parc des
Princes. His two previous caps had been at tight head against the
Wallabies on Scotland's Australian tour last year, but he adjusted so
well to playing on the left of the front row that he was untroubled by
those set against him by France, Wales, and England.
It is a natural delight to Wright that he and a fellow Scot, Paul
Burnell, are the Lions' two tight-head props. Together they have kept
out Hugh Williams-Jones and Jeff Probyn, the respective Welsh and
English tight heads who played against Wright.
Nor is this year notable in the Wright calendar only for his rugby
achievements. On April 24, less than a month before he leaves for New
Zealand, he will marry his long-time girlfriend, Audrey Gray.
All of the Scottish pack's front five -- Kenny Milne, Andy Reed, and
Damian Cronin as well as the two props -- are in the 30-strong squad. So
are three backs, Gavin and Scott Hastings, and Gary Armstrong, all of
whom toured with the 1989 Lions who won the Test series
2-1 against Australia.
Gavin Hastings -- who follows a fellow Scot, Finlay Calder, as the
Lions' captain -- is to lead a squad comprising 16 Englishmen, four
Welshmen, and two Irish forwards, Mick Galwey and Nick Popplewell, as
well as the Scots. Not since 1977, when 16 Welshmen toured New Zealand,
have so many players from one country been with the Lions.
Reed, like Wright, is an example of how one can come through to the
pinnacle of rugby achievement in a few weeks. The 23-year-old Bath lock
was introduced to international rugby only in January, but such has been
his lineout liaison with Cronin and Doddie Weir that Scotland have
enjoyed a season of greater touchline success than they have had for
many a year.
Weir, the Melrose forward who switched from lock to No.8 this season,
has missed out. So have Scotland's two current flankers, Derek Turnbull
and Iain Morrison. Instead, the Lions have opted for a breakaway sixsome
including four Englishmen -- the current trio plus Dean Richards, who
had been discarded by his country's selectors because he was one-paced.
That is a disappointment for Scottish rugby as counter-balance to the
pleasures elsewhere, and in that area, too, the Lions would seem to be
thin. They have no back-row forward with the pace of one of their
probable Test opponents, Michael Jones.
Peter Winterbottom, the only Lion linking the 1983 tour to New
Zealand, is the one genuine open-side wing forward in the squad. Mike
Teague and Richard Webster are flankers in the blind-side mould, and
Galwey has been named as a utility back-five forward.
Such versatility is useful, as Ian McGeechan, the Lions' coach,
acknowledged. ''We needed some degree of flexibility,'' the coach said,
''and picking Galwey as a No.6 gives us that. We also took into account
New Zealand conditions.''
As another criticism, the omission of Swansea's Robert Jones is
incredible even though he was deposed by Rupert Moon for the Welsh match
in Paris on Saturday. Not since the 1959 tour to New Zealand have the
Lions left these shores without a Welsh scrum half.
Instead, Armstrong's fellow scrum half is another of the English
cabal, Dewi Morris. Yet, at least viewed from afar via the medium of
television, Jones, like his long-standing friend, Armstrong, is a more
capable and complete scrum half than Morris.
No fewer than 13 of England's defeated Dublin team, all bar Jon Webb
and Jeff Probyn, have been included, and they have been augmented by Ian
Hunter, Rob Andrew, and Richards. But Andrew, deposed by Stuart Barnes
as England's stand-off for the international against Scotland earlier
this month, is fortunate to be going on tour. The competition was
reduced when Craig Chalmers, the Melrose and Scotland fly half, broke an
arm at Twickenham 17 days ago, whereas Eric Elwood's introduction by
Ireland has been just too late.
In Elwood's two internationals this month Ireland have won in Cardiff
and beaten England 17-3 in Dublin. The Connacht stand-off has lifted
Irish rugby from despondency, though the euphoria was punctured with the
news of the breakdown of the Lions' 30.
McGeechan, who was coach of the successful Lions in Australia four
years ago, looked ahead to the venture Down Under with enthusiasm. ''The
Lions' tour is an important element in the education of British
players,'' he said. ''It's a personal challenge to keep on improving,
and there is no better benchmark than New Zealand.''
He was a Lion against the All Blacksin 1977, and he has a high regard
for rugby there: ''New Zealand has given me some of my best fixes. I am
a rugby junkie.''
The Lions squad
Full backs -- A G Hastings (Watsonians and Scotland), captain, A
Clement (Swansea and Wales).
Wings -- R Underwood (Leicester and England), T Underwood (Leicester
and England), I G Hunter (Northampton and England), I C Evans (Llanelli
and Wales).
Centres -- W D C Carling (Harlequins and England), J C Guscott (Bath
and England), I S Gibbs (Swansea and Wales), S Hastings (Watsonians and
Scotland).
Stand-offs -- S Barnes (Bath and England), C R Andrew (Wasps and
England).
Scrum halves -- G Armstrong (Jed-Forest and Scotland), C D Morris
(Orrell and England).
Props -- J Leonard (Harlequins and England), N J Popplewell
(Greystones and Ireland), A P Burnell (London Scottish and Scotland), P
H Wright (Boroughmuir and Scotland).
Hookers -- B C Moore (Harlequins and England), K S Milne (Heriot's FP
and Scotland).
Locks -- W A Dooley (Preston Grasshoppers and England), M C Bayfield
(Northampton and England), D F Cronin (London Scottish and Scotland), A
I Reed (Bath and Scotland).
Flankers -- M Galwey (Shannon and Ireland), M C Teague (Moseley and
England), P J Winterbottom (Harlequins and England), R E Webster
(Swansea and Wales).
No.8s -- D Richards (Leicester and England), B B Clarke (Bath and
England).
TOUR ITINERARY
May 22 -- v North Auckland (Whangarei); 26 -- v North Harbour
(Auckland); 29 -- Maoris (Wellington). June 2 -- v Canterbury
(Christchurch); 5 -- v Otago (Dunedin); 8 -- v Southland (Invercargill);
12 -- First Test (Christchurch); 16 -- v Taranaki (New Plymouth); 19 --
v Auckland (Auckland); 22 -- v Hawke's Bay (Napier); 26 -- Second Test
(Wellington); 29 -- v Waikato (Hamilton). July 3 -- Third Test
(Auckland).
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article